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“America’s Best Idea” Photo Exhibit at the Gettysburg Visitor Center Showcases National Parks

From left to right, Sarah McKenna, National Park Service intern; Jennifer Weaver of the Gettysburg Foundation; David Hazel, National Park Service intern; Tom and Steve Jorstad, the photographer's sons; and Chris Stein, acting superintendent, Gettysburg Na

A new photographic exhibit is on display now at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center called “America’s Best Idea: A Photographic Journey Through our National Parks.” The exhibit features 38 spectacular images captured by renowned landscape photographer, Stan Jorstad, along with four images of the Gettysburg and Eisenhower parks taken by Jason Martz, Visual Information Specialist at Gettysburg National Military Park.

Photographer Stan Jorstad, now deceased, fought in the Second World War in Northern Africa and Italy under General Eisenhower’s command. Jorstad was the first professional photographer to have photographed all 58 “National Parks” in the late 1990s. His work was deeply influenced by friends and mentors Ansel Adams, Eliot Porter, and Torkel Korling. In the early 1960s, he was a cinematographer for the television series Wild Kingdom.

Over a period of 40 years, Jorstad became a master at capturing transcendent moments while visiting National Parks. The images now on display at Gettysburg capture stream passing over moss covered stones, trees clinging to boulders, and windswept mountain peaks under monumental skies. The National Park Service preserves these landscapes for the enjoyment of this and all future generations. Learn more today by visiting www.nps.gov.

“The power of this exhibit is in the collection of photographs as a whole which show the rich diversity of our parks from sea to shining sea,” said Chris Stein, acting superintendent, Gettysburg National Military Park. “The purpose of this exhibit is to help increase the visibility of Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site as units of the National Park System.”